The pacifier wars
by UnholyUnderBoob
Summary: Family Portrait universe. Shelby offers to babysit Holly's nephew for the day, but her girls have mixed reactions towards the infant. TWO-SHOT.
1. Chapter 1

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters. It all belongs to Fox and RIB. Any characters you do not recognise are my own creations.**_

_**Shelby offers to babysit Holly's nephew for the day, but her girls have mixed reactions towards the infant.**_

_**TWO-SHOT **_

_**Chapter 1/2**_

_**R&R please.**_

Shelby looks down at the sleeping baby and smiles softly, the warmth and weight of the child feeling comforting in her arms. Tiny little fingers and tiny little toes make her smile, and soft snores make her chuckle. His soft blonde girls feel soft underneath her touch, and she misses seeing the huge, green eyes that had been curiously watching her only a few moments ago. Oh how she wishes she could hold her girls like this, rocking them to sleep and holding their tiny, little bodies close to her chest. That would be heaven.

"Are you sure you're okay with doing this?" Shelby tears her gaze away from the sleeping angel in her arms, her eyes reluctantly landing on Holly. "I know you already have your hands full with your little ones."

"We'll be fine," Shelby reassures her friend. "It's just one afternoon. You go take care of your client and when you're finished, your adorable little nephew will be waiting right here for you," Shelby smiles.

"I completely forgot about the appointment," Holly chews on her bottom lip, "otherwise I would have asked Sugar to stay home."

"It's fine, really," Shelby swears. "The girls will love this little guy and the five of us will have a great time. You really don't have to worry," Shelby tells her. "Besides, big girl Brittany will be around today. She's preparing everything for going back to school tomorrow. The poor girl has spent all of thanksgiving worrying about an english test." Holly smiles sympathetically,

"she'll do great, she's a smart girl."

"That's what I keep telling her," Shelby nods.

"I'll help you remind her how awesome she is before the test," Holly steps, patting the pocket on her jeans that houses her cell phone.

"Thanks," Shelby grins. "Now go, you don't want to be late for your client," she adds.

"Right, yeah." Holly steps forward and strokes the baby's face with the pad of her thumb, "I'll be back as soon as possible, little man," Holly murmurs. Holly doesn't look at all thrilled about having to leave her nephew and go to work, but she allows her feet to drag her to the front door. "His diaper bag and car seat are in the kitchen," she says, stopping in the doorway.

"I know," Shelby nods, "I was the one that put them in there," she smirks. "Quit stalling, he'll be right here when you're done." Holly sighs,

"alright, thanks, Shelby."

"It's my pleasure." Shelby gently kicks the door closed behind her friend and carefully walks back to the living room, lightly bouncing the tiny boy in her arms. She sits down on the couch and gazes down at him, smiling at the way his little brow furrows as he sleeps. Brittany will be home with Santana and Quinn at any moment, and Shelby has no idea how the two little ones will react to having a baby in the house for the afternoon. Thank god big girl Brittany will be around to help Shelby out if she needs her to. Although, Shelby really doesn't want to drag Brittany away from her studies unless it's absolutely necessary.

Sinking back into the sofa cushion, Shelby allows herself to relax and watch TV. She keeps the volume low so as to not wake the baby and rolls her eyes at the ridiculously bad, made for TV, movie playing on the screen. She really doesn't understand why her girls are so obsessed with television, because Shelby can never find anything decent to watch on it. Shelby smiles when she hears the garage door opening, and she carefully rises from the sofa again. She only got a few minutes to relax, but she's okay with that. Shelby missed her girls, even if they've only been out for a few hours.

"Hey, mom," Brittany smiles as she walks in first, her smile widening when she spots the baby. "Oh wow, he's so cute!" Brittany breathes out, reaching out to run her finger along the baby's brow. "Did Holly just leave?"

"Yeah," Shelby nods. "She was worried about leaving him, though."

"He'll be fine," Brittany shrugs, smiling fondly at the boy. "Quinn and Santana are clearing up their mess in the car," she tells Shelby. "I let them eat chips and they started throwing them at each other." Shelby sighs and shakes her head,

"apart from their little food fight, how were they?"

"Okay, I guess," Brittany says, "Santana's a little grumpy, though. I think big girl Santana had a crappy shift at work. Quinn seems fine."

"Good," Shelby nods. "I'll go make sure they're tidying instead of fighting," Shelby sighs. Leave it to her girls to think that the small confines of a car is the ideal place to throw food around.

"I'll make coffee," Brittany states. Shelby smiles,

"I've got you well trained, my girl." Brittany throws her a wink as she heads into the kitchen, and Shelby forces herself to go check out Santana and Quinn's latest mess. Shelby regrets stepping into the garage as soon as Santana's loud yell meets her ears,

"Mama!" Shelby cringes as the baby in her arms stirs, loud, piercing wails echoing around the garage. Santana, who had been about to launch herself at her mama, freezes. A look of horror crosses her features and she covers her ears. "What is it?! Why is it doing that?!" Santana loudly exclaims as Shelby attempts to soothe the bitterly sobbing baby.

"It's not an it, Santana," Quinn corrects her, violently rolling her eyes. Jeez, little sisters can be _so_ dumb! "It's a..." Quinn falters and scrutinises the screaming baby.

"He's a he," Shelby supplies for her, "his name is Liam. He's aunt Holly's nephew, we're going to be looking after him today," Shelby explains.

"I don't like him, mama, he's hurting my ears!" Santana yells to be heard over Liam's cries. Shelby sighs,

"Santana, he might stop crying if you stopped yelling," Shelby scolds her. "Come on inside," she instructs both girls. She motions for them to walk in front of her, and she studies them both carefully. Santana does not look impressed in the slightest and her hands are still clamped over her ears. Quinn, on the other hand, merely looks curious. In fact, Shelby thinks the blonde will actually be happy about their little visitor as long as he stops crying. They reach the kitchen and Brittany shoots her mom a sympathetic look as she slides her a coffee and holds out her arms for Liam.

"I'll walk him around the house until he calms down," Brittany murmurs, "it'll give you a chance to talk to them about it," she quietly adds, only for Shelby to hear. Shelby nods,

"thanks, babe," she says, carefully transferring Liam into Brittany's arms. Shelby waits until Brittany and Liam are out of the room before she turns to face her two little ones. "Aunt Holly had to go to work, so I offered to look after her nephew for her," Shelby explains. "It'll be fun," she promises. "You guys can help mama take care of him."

"I'm not changing diapers!" Santana exclaims, her nose wrinkling in disgust. Shelby sighs,

"I didn't say you had to," Shelby reassures her. "I'll need both of you girls to play nicely this afternoon. Liam is just a baby and he needs lots of sleep, so I will not be happy if you guys are too loud," she sternly states, looking between the two girls. "Now, did you guys get all of the mess out of the car?" Quinn and Santana share a grimace, they hadn't realised Brittany told their mama about that.

"Yes, mama. It's all cleaned up," Quinn promises her. Shelby studies the girl carefully, trying to work out if Quinn is being truthful or if she has to go and check the car herself. After a minute, Shelby nods.

"Alright, thank you. No more throwing food around," Shelby tells them firmly. Both girls nod, eager to get out from underneath Shelby's steel gaze. "Alright, go play. I'll call you back in a little bit for a snack," Shelby states. Both girls shoot her a grin before they take off out of the kitchen, "no running in the house!" Shelby shakes her head and grabs Liam's car seat, before making her way towards the living room. She finds Brittany pacing the room with a now quiet baby in her arms, and she smiles softly. "Baby whisperer, huh?"

"Yeah," Brittany chuckles, a faux smug expression on her face. "He was fine as soon as I started bouncing him," she tells her mom. "I think no longer being in the room as foghorn Santana probably calmed him down, too," Brittany adds with an eyeroll. She gently places Liam into his car seat and adjusts his blanket, smiling down at the sleeping baby. "He's so cute."

"He is," Shelby agrees. "Don't you get any ideas now," she warns. "As great as you look with a baby in your arms, I am _not_ ready to be a grandmother just yet," Shelby teases, smirking when the tips of Brittany's ears turn bright red.

"Oh, don't even go there, mom," Brittany exclaims. "I mean, as much as I want a tiny version of Santana, that's a long time away. Do me favour, don't say anything like that to Santana. She'll probably swallow her tongue!"

"I'm well aware of what not to say to Santana," Shelby states lightly. It's true, she knows all of her girls extremely well. She doesn't even have to think about what she needs to say to either of them, it comes as naturally as breathing.

0-00-0

Shelby gently cradles Liam while she sits at the kitchen table with Santana and Quinn, supervising them as they eat their snack. They've only been home for an hour, but it feels much longer. Santana had been avoiding coming downstairs for fear that Liam would start being loud again, but the girl sure had caused some chaos in her bedroom. The room looks like a bomb had gone off inside of it and Shelby has no idea how on earth Santana caused the mess in such a short space of time. Quinn, however, had been pretty calm. The girl seems interested in the baby, Shelby had caught her shooting him curious little glances every so often, but she had made no effort to interact with him. Shelby doesn't rush her, though, Quinn will get involved if she wants to.

"Mama?" Shelby turns to Santana and smiles,

"yes, sweetheart?"

"Did the baby make you forget 'bout Brittany?" Santana questions, curiously cocking her head to the side. Shelby frowns,

"no, of course not! Nothing could ever make me forget about any of you girls," Shelby promises. "What makes you think that, baby girl?"

"You didn't make Brittany a snack," Santana states innocently.

"That's because big girl Brittany took a snack upstairs with her," Shelby explains. "She's studying so I don't want to disturb her. I didn't forget about her, I promise," she swears.

"She's not studying," Santana frowns, "she's playing with her toys." Shelby's eyes widen momentarily and she glances at Quinn,

"you girls stay here and finish your food," Shelby says. "Quinn, I want to see a decent amount of food eaten," she adds, tipping her head in the direction of Quinn's almost full plate.

"Yes, mama." Shelby gets to her feet and makes her way upstairs, Liam still in her arms. Wandering along the hall, Shelby peers into each bedroom just to ensure that Brittany hasn't switched rooms. Stepping into Brittany's bedroom, Shelby finds the girl playing on the floor; her pants missing.

"Mama!" Brittany cheers, a crooked grin spreading across her face as she scrambles to her feet.

"Hey there, baby girl," Shelby replies, shaking her head in amusement. "Where did big girl Brittany go?"

"All gone!" Brittany exclaims, throwing her hands up. Shelby chuckles,

"so I see. What about your pants? Where did they go?"

"Gone, too!" Brittany states seriously, her brow furrowing. Shelby follows Brittany's concerned gaze to the baby in her arms and she sighs softly. "Baby?"

"Yeah, sweetheart. This is Liam," Shelby tells her. Brittany peers down at the baby, a deep frown etched on her features, her frown only growing when Liam stares back up at her. Shelby winces at the less than happy expression on her baby girl's face. "Come on downstairs, Brittany," Shelby states. "There's some sweat pants in the living room that you can put on and then mama will get you a snack."

"No," Brittany grumbles, "no snack."

"Are you sure, baby girl?" Shelby questions, feeling a little concerned. Her girls rarely turned down food. "It's still a long time until dinner."

"No snack," Brittany repeats with a groan. Shelby sighs,

"okay, sweetheart. We can go play downstairs then." Shelby shifts Liam's weight to one arm and holds her free hand out for Brittany to take, the girl accepting it while glaring at the baby in her mama's grasp.

"Baby go?" Brittany questions.

"No, not yet," Shelby shakes her head. "Liam is staying with us until after dinner," Shelby explains. "Come on, let's go see your sisters." Shelby leads Brittany downstairs and ushers Brittany into the living room when she hears the TV turning on. "Go see them, I'll be there in a minute, sweetheart," Shelby states. Brittany doesn't look at all pleased about having to leave her mama, but she does as she is told. Sighing, Shelby makes her way into the kitchen. She enters the room just in time to catch Quinn putting some of her food onto Santana's abandoned, empty plate. "Uh uh, I don't think so." Quinn jumps, surprised, and turns around to guiltily stare at her mama.

"I'm done, mama," she mumbles.

"You're not done," Shelby corrects her, "not even close."

"Brittany isn't eating a snack," Quinn pouts. "It's not fair, mama."

"Brittany had lunch with me while big girls Quinn and Santana were at work," Shelby states firmly. "Now, eat." Quinn huffs loudly and begins to pick at her food, throwing her mama the dirtiest look she can muster up. "You can take that look off of your face, little girl," Shelby warns her. "I will be back in five minutes to check on you, and I want to see a different on that plate." Shelby sighs when Quinn doesn't respond, but she doesn't push it. Instead, she heads back towards the living room and joins Santana on the sofa.

"Mama, look! Cartoon Batman!" Santana excitedly tells her.

"That's awesome, baby," Shelby distractedly responds as she leans forward, placing Liam into his car seat. He fusses and Shelby gently hushes him and slips his pacifier into his little mouth. "You're okay, little man," she coos, frowning slightly. Holly had warned her that he was a fussy baby and Shelby has a funny feeling that she's about to experience that first hand.

"You're not looking, mama," Santana huffs, "look at Batman!" Santana tugs on Shelby's arm. Shelby turns her gaze to the television just as the show cuts to commercial and Santana groans. "You missed it, mama!"

"It's okay," Shelby reassures her, "it's just a commercial break, it'll come back on." Shelby leans back into the sofa cushions and sighs softly. Instead of two adults and three children, she's now battling four children on by herself. This should be fun. A loud wail interrupts her minute moment of silence, and Shelby looks down just in time to see Brittany popping Liam's pacifier into her mouth.

"Brittany, no!" Shelby scolds, "that is Liam's pacifier, not yours. Give it back," Shelby states gently, yet firmly.

"Noooo," Brittany whimpers. "Me baby, too." Shelby frowns as she stands up,

"Yes, honey. You are, but it's not your pacifier," Shelby explains. "Santana, one of Brittany's pacifiers is on the kitchen counter. Can you get it for me, please?" Shelby requests as Liam's cries grow louder.

"Batman's on, mama," Santana whines. Shelby shoots Santana a glare that quite clearly tells the girl to do as she is told, and a reluctant Santana slopes off to the kitchen.

"Brittany," Shelby begins as she lifts Liam into her arms and cradles him close to her chest, "pacifier now."

"No, mama, Britt keep binky now," Brittany pleads, pointing towards herself. Shelby sighs as she shifts Liam into one arm and holds her hand out,

"Santana is getting your binky, but you need to give Liam's one back," Shelby sternly states. "Right now, Brittany. I mean it."

"Mama!" Brittany bursts into tears, bitter sobs wracking her body as she points towards Liam. "You..." Brittany chokes on her words as fat tears leak down her cheeks, "like better!" Shelby is convinced that her heart has just cracked in half, and she kneels down next to her baby girl.

"No, baby girl," Shelby shakes her head, her tone soft and kind. "I promise I don't like Liam any better than you. I love you more than anything, you and your sisters," Shelby swears, reaching out to rub Brittany's back as she still balances Liam in one arm. She know understands why little Brittany made an appearance this afternoon; she's jealous. "I just wanted you to give Liam his binky back. You have lots around the house, but he only has one with him and yours are too big for him, sweetheart."

"Quinn's here! Quinn's here!" Santana yells as she sprints into the living room, brandishing one of Brittany's pacifiers.

"Wha...what, baby?" Shelby questions, cringing when Liam shrieks into her ear.

"Big girl Quinn, mama, duh!" Santana stares at her mama as though the woman is completely insane.

"Hey! Do not speak to mama like that," Shelby scolds her, and Santana's face instantly falls. "Thank you for getting Brittany's pacifier," she quickly adds, fearing that Santana would also cry. "Just work on being more polite, babe."

"Okay, mama," Santana sighs as she thrusts the pacifier into Brittany's hand, the blonde immediately spitting Liam's one out and replacing it with her own one. Liam stops crying as soon as Shelby returns his pacifier, and Santana stares at her mama in awe. "You fixed him, mama!"

"He wasn't broken, sweetheart," Shelby says, grinning slightly. "He was just a little sad. He's okay now, though," she adds.

"Brittany isn't," Santana states simply, staring at Liam with distaste. Shelby turns to look at Brittany, frowning at the whimpers still escaping Brittany's lips. "You and Liam made her sad," Santana scowls at her mama as she drops to her knees beside her sister, hugging Brittany as tightly as she can.

"Santana..." Shelby trails off when Quinn walks into the living room, carrying a mug of steaming coffee.

"I figured you could use this," Quinn states with a small smile, placing the coffee on the coffee table and holding her hands out for Liam. Shelby wordlessly places the baby into Quinn's arms and studies her curiously. "I'll take care of this little one just now," Quinn murmurs as she steps away from her mom. Shelby has no idea why big girl Quinn is here, but the timing couldn't have been better.

"Mama," Brittany whimpers and Shelby kneels down next to the upset girl again.

"Mama's right here, angel," Shelby coos. Brittany clambers out of Santana's arms and allows herself to be gathered into Shelby's embrace instead. She softly cries into her mama's neck, mumbling incoherently. "It's okay. Calm down first, then you can tell mama what you want to tell her," Shelby softly instructs.

"Can _he_ go home now?" Santana sourly questions, glaring at the doorway when Liam's cries float into the living room. Shelby frowns at Santana,

"his name is Liam," Shelby reprimands her, "and, no. He will be with us for the rest of the day."

"Fine," Santana grumbles, a major pout tugging at her lips. "Stupid Liam," Santana murmurs in a low voice, speaking only to herself. Unfortunately for her, her mama overhears.

"Corner," Shelby firmly states, pointing to the empty corner in the living room. "You know we do not use that word, I've told you many times."

"But, mama..."

"No," Shelby cuts Santana off. "You will go into that corner right now," she says sternly. "I will come and speak to you in five minutes." Santana huffs loudly, but does as her mama tells her to. Shelby watches her girl slope off to the corner and shakes her head in disapproval. She hadn't exactly expected her girls to welome their baby visitor with open arms, but Shelby didn't think they would react like _this._ Brittany's jealous and Santana is almost hostile, there's no way the rest of the day is going to be easy.

"Mom?" Shelby looks up as Quinn pokes her head into the room.

"Yeah, babe?" Shelby forces a smile to her face as she gazes across at Quinn, still holding Brittany close to her.

"We...uh...we have a diaper situation here." As much as Quinn wants to help Shelby, there's some things she will just not do. Not even if she was paid a million bucks.

_**To be continued... the 2nd (and last) chapter will be posted on Monday. Please review.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters. It all belongs to Fox and RIB. Any characters you do not recognise are my own creations.**_

_**Thank you to those who reviewed the first part, I appreciate the support :)**_

_**R&R please.**_

**Chapter 2/2**

Shelby leans against the door frame as she watches Quinn slowly walk around the kitchen, the teenager gently bouncing the cooing baby in her arms. She smiles, finding it really sweet. It's a lone peaceful moment during a, so far, hectic day. Santana is in the corner again, for refusing to listen to Shelby, and Brittany is taking an enforced nap for stealing Liam's blanket. Now that it's quiet, Shelby can finally talk to Quinn about something that has been bothering her for the last hour or so. It could easily be nothing, but Shelby learned the hard way that it's always best to bring up any concerns she has about her girls.

"Are you just gonna stand there and stare at me all day?" Quinn asks with a smirk as she gazes across at her mom. Shelby chuckles lightly, shaking her head.

"Sorry. I just wanted to talk to you about something, but I couldn't bring myself to interrupt your little moment," Shelby says quietly. Quinn instantly gives her mom her full attention,

"what's up? Is everything okay?" Quinn asks, concern flooding her features.

"Yeah, yeah, everything's fine," Shelby reassures her. "I was just a little worried about little Quinn's sudden disappearance," Shelby tells her. Quinn gets a little flustered,

"oh, uh, I was uh, you know, just trying to help you out," Quinn stutters and Shelby can immediately see that the teenager is lying.

"It's not just little Quinn that's not allowed to tell lies," Shelby warns her, her eyes narrowing at an embarrassed looking Quinn. Quinn sighs,

"if I tell you, you can't punish little Quinn," Quinn bargains. "I don't think it would be fair." Shelby ponders this for a moment, and she is unsure about what to do. She doesn't really want to knowingly allow little Quinn to get away with something, but she also doesn't want to make big girl Quinn tell her something and then punish little Quinn for it.

"Alright," Shelby eventually says. "I won't punish little Quinn for it," she promises. She relaxes slightly when she notices Quinn's sly smirk, knowing it's something that's merely annoying, not serious.

"Well, little Quinn kinda has snacks hidden in her bedroom," Quinn says with a grin. "Prepared snacks from mama aren't really necessary after half a dozen cookies," she adds with a small shrug.

"So big girl Quinn is here because little Quinn is trying to hide the fact that she's full up from eating crap," Shelby supplies. She rolls her eyes and opens a couple of cupboard doors, only now noticing just how much of the girl's treats are missing. How on earth had she missed that? "Well, at least it's nothing serious," Shelby sighs. "I was worried that there was something going on with you," she admits.

"Oh, sorry," Quinn winces.

"No, it's okay," Shelby waves her off. "It's why I wanted to ask and clear it up," she smiles. "Come on, you can put him in his car seat and let him sleep," Shelby says, gesturing for Quinn to follow her into the living room. Walking into the room, they find Santana still standing in the corner. Sighing softly, Shelby walks across the room while Quinn places Liam in his car seat. "Santana, you can come out of the corner now," Shelby tells her.

"Sorry, mama," Santana grumbles as she shuffles around to face her mama.

"Why are you sorry?" Shelby prompts her, her hands on her hips as she sternly stares her girl down.

"I don't know," Santana scowls, scuffing her foot against the carpet and shoving her hands into her pockets.

"Santana," Shelby warns. "Drop your attitude right now and tell me why I put you in the corner." It had seemed impossible, but Santana's scowl deepens.

"Because you're a mean mama, and I don't like you anymore!" Shelby's eyebrows almost disappear into her hair. Where had that come from? She watches as Santana stubbornly sets her jaw and folds her arms across her chest.

"Alright, little girl. You can turn around right now and stay in the corner until you are ready to calm down and apologise," Shelby states, her calm voice disguising how she really feels. Santana huffs and turns back around, her angry gaze boring into the living room wall. Shelby walks across to the sofa and slumps down next to Quinn, a look of disbelief on her features.

"What was that about?" Quinn asks, surprised.

"She's mad at me," Shelby murmurs. "I mean, you heard her earlier...she said that it was myself and Liam that made Brittany cry, and I think she's still mad about being in the corner again," Shelby comments with a heavy sigh.

"You know she didn't mean it, right?" Quinn double checks. "She just told you she doesn't like you because she wanted to make you feel bad." Shelby nods,

"I know. It doesn't make it any easier to hear, though." Shelby sighs again, "it really defeats the purpose of the punishment. It's supposed to be a clean slate, but it can't be a clean slate if she's still mad about it. Punishment doesn't work if she doesn't accept it," Shelby murmurs, ensuring she keeps her voice low enough so that Santana doesn't hear her.

"Why is she so mad, though?" Quinn softly asks. "I mean, I don't think I've ever seen her look so mad at you, mom."

"Neither have I," Shelby admits. "I think it's because Liam's here. Brittany has been acting out, she's jealous and wants extra attention. I think Santana is just kind of feeding off of the negative energy."

"Do you want me to take them out or something?" Quinn questions. "You know, get them out of your hair for a little while."

"No," Shelby shakes her head. "Thank you for offering, honey," Shelby smiles, "but that would only teach them that bad behaviour leads to rewards and getting their own way." Quinn nods, that makes sense. "Santana!" Quinn jumps when her mom calls out sternly to her little sister, and she follows Shelby's gaze just in time to catch Santana jerking back around to face the wall. "The next time I have to tell you off about something, I will spank you right here in the living room," Shelby sternly warns a petulant Santana.

"Stop telling me off then," Shelby hears Santana grumble, the girl's eyes widening when she sees her mama quickly crossing the room. She hadn't meant for Shelby to hear her. Before her mama can reach her, Santana quickly drops down onto her butt. Mama can't spank her butt if she's sitting on it.

"I want you to listen very carefully," Shelby begins as she kneels down in front of Santana, her intense stare boring into Santana's dark eyes. "I understand that you are mad, and that's okay, but you will not be rude to mama. You will stand here and think about your bad behaviour until I tell you, you can come out. If you disobey me one more time, or are rude to me again, I will be very upset with you," Shelby lectures firmly. "I mean it, Santana. You've used up all of your chances. If I have to come over here again, I will spank your bare bottom right here in front of Quinn and Liam."

It's a harsh threat, but it's also an empty one. Shelby would never embarrass Santana like that. Sure, embarrassment is a part of the punishment when you get spanked, but there is such a thing as going too far. "Do you want that to happen?" Shelby questions Santana sternly. Santana shakes her head, her bottom lip quivering.

"No, mama," the girl whispers.

"Alright," Shelby sighs. "Turn back around and we'll try this again. You're in the corner for five minutes, for being rude and disrespectful towards mama. I will tell you when the five minutes are up. Okay?" Santana nods again. Shelby doesn't push for a verbal answer. It's hard for a person to speak when they're about to cry, just like Santana is now. Shelby walks back across to Quinn, "could you do me a favour, babe?"

"Sure, what do you need?" Quinn stands up and straightens out her t'shirt, brushing at imaginary lint.

"Could you wake Brittany up and bring her down for me?" Shelby requests. "She won't go down tonight if I let her sleep any longer, but I want to keep an eye on Santana."

"Yeah, of course," Quinn nods. "Don't let her get to you," she adds softly, shooting her mom a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry," Shelby grins. "I'm a Santana specialist," she winks. Shelby sits down on the sofa as Quinn heads upstairs, watching Santana carefully as she uses her foot to gently rock Liam's car seat. Santana is standing as stiffly as a well disciplined soldier, and it would be amusing if Shelby weren't so frustrated by the girl's behaviour. As Shelby watches Santana's perfectly still form, she realises that she will need to follow through on her earlier threat if Santana does disobey her again. The promise of being spanked down here is what got through to the girl and if Shelby ever failed to follow through, Santana's behaviour would only worsen. Who would want to behave when there's no consequences to being naughty?

Shelby knows that she won't ever follow through on that threat quite to the extent that Santana is probably imagining. Santana, no doubt, will feel like her bare butt is being presented on a stage with light up arrows pointing to her. Shelby's way of thinking, is less extreme. She would merely hand out the immediate punishment that she had promised, regardless of who is in the room. Hopefully, it won't happen today. Santana had seemed to take her last scolding to heart. God, Shelby really hopes so. This is an important lesson for Shelby, she should only ever promise a punishment that she is one hundred percent convinced she can follow through on. Like most parents, she's still learning. She probably always will be.

"Mama." Shelby turns just in time to see Brittany slumping down next to her, the girl instantly burrowing as close to her as is physically possible. "No bad," Brittany sleepily states, pointing to herself. Shelby sighs softly, before shooting Quinn a grateful smile as the teenager sits down on the armchair. "I no bad."

"I know, baby girl," Shelby gently reassures her. "You're not bad. You were naughty before your nap, but you're definitely not bad," Shelby promises. "Do you understand what you did wrong?" she softly questions her youngest girl.

"Steal," Brittany sadly murmurs, gazing at her mama with wide, blue eyes.

"That's right," Shelby nods. "You knew that you weren't allowed to take Liam's things. Mama taught you that when you took his pacifier, but then you also took his blanket anyway," Shelby calmly explains. "That's not okay."

"Sorry, mama," Brittany mumbles, pouting massively.

"I know," Shelby murmurs as she kisses Brittany's temple, "and mama forgives you. It's a clean slate, angel." Brittany smiles sweetly and sloppily kisses her mama's cheek. Her smile falls, though, when she spots Santana in the corner. Brittany's gaze drops to Liam for a split second before returning to Santana, a frown forming on her features.

"Why?" Brittany questions as she turns her blue gaze onto her mama, her arm stretching across Shelby as she points at her sister.

"Santana is being punished," is Shelby's simple reply. It's not fair to discuss one girl's punishment with another.

"Out now?" Brittany pleads, pointing at Santana again.

"Not right this second," Shelby shakes her head. "Mama is going to let Santana out when I say so. It's none of your business, baby," Shelby states lightly, playfully tapping Brittany's nose with her finger.

"Play after?" Brittany innocently questions, clearly desperate to spend some time with her sister.

"Absolutely," Shelby nods. "You can play with Santana once she is finished being punished," she confirms.

0-00-0

Shelby lets out a content sigh as Santana snuggles against her chest, her fingers gently combing through her girl's hair. So far, Santana seems to understand that no more bad behaviour will be tolerated, and Shelby is relieved. She hates having to punish any of her girls. It's just unfortunate that it is a requirement of being a watches as Brittany plays on the floor, her littlest girl actively ignoring the baby that is enjoying some tummy time a few feet away from her. She sighs softly, wishing she didn't feel guilty for bringing the baby into their home.

"Be careful, Brittany," Shelby states as Brittany gets a little rambumctious, one of her toys landing very close to Liam.

"Playing, mama," Brittany frowns up at Shelby.

"I know, sweetheart," Shelby gently states. "I'm just telling you to be careful, your toy almost hit Liam," she explains. Brittany scowls at the mention of the baby, why can't he just go home?! "Play," she demands, pointing at Santana. Santana shakes her head against Shelby's collar bone, a pout still present on her lips.

"I don't wanna play," Santana mumbles. Shelby glances down at Santana and sighs softly, she feels guilty. She regrets her earlier threat, and Shelby knows she needs to talk to Santana about it, because she's pretty sure that fear of somehow doing something naughty is stopping the girl from playing with her sister. She waits until Brittany's attention returns to her toys before she dips her head and gently urges Santana to lift hers.

"Mama wouldn't spank your bare bottom in front of anyone," Shelby murmurs into her ear. Santana frowns at her, confusion easily visible in her big, brown eyes.

"But you always spank me when you say you're gonna," Santana whispers, her eyes darting across to Brittany to ensure she isn't paying attention.

"I know," Shelby nods. "The thing is, mama was really mad at you," Shelby explains. "If you earn one, I will definitely spank you any time that I tell you I will. Always believe mama when she gives you a warning, but you don't have to worry about me taking your underwear down in front of anyone. Mama will never do that to you," Shelby promises. "Mama was wrong to say that she would," she adds. Santana wrinkles her nose,

"but you're a mama," Santana retorts. "Mamas aren't wrong."

"They can be," Shelby corrects her. "Mama was just mad, and I wanted to make you see how serious I was. I promise you that I will always take you to a private room if you earn a spanking."

"How do I know when you mean it?" Santana innocently questions, cocking her head to one side. "Will you only mean it sometimes?" Shelby grimaces.

"No, sweetheart. I'm sorry, I know I'm confusing you," Shelby states regretfully. "If mama tells you that she's going to punish you if you don't stop doing something naughty, then I absolutely mean it every single time," she calmly explains. "Mama will always follow through on punishments. All I'm telling you is that mama made a mistake today, because I won't ever put you across my lap if someone else is in the room. I will always take you to another room, or ask whoever is in the room to leave. Do you understand what mama is saying to you?" Shelby questions kindly.

"Uh huh," Santana nods.

"Can you explain it to me?" Shelby requests, she wants to be absolutely sure that Santana does indeed understand.

"If you promise to punish me, then you definitely will," Santana dutifully recites, "but you won't ever let anyone see my butt when you spank it." Shelby chuckles lightly,

"that's right, baby girl. Good listening," Shelby praises with a fond smile.

"And mamas can be wrong sometimes, too," Santana chirps, grinning sweetly at her mama.

"Absolutely," Shelby nods, "but only sometimes," she quickly adds in a teasing tone. Santana giggles cutely and gently places the palm of her hand on Shelby's cheek, her features suddenly adopting a serious expression.

"I'm sorry I said I didn't like you," Santana sadly says. "I was mad," she admits, "I like you lots, mama." Shelby smiles,

"we both said things we didn't mean," Shelby states pointedly, "see... it's easy to make a mistake, huh?" Santana nods soberly, her puppy dog eyes working on overtime. "I know you didn't mean it, baby. Thank you for apologising." Shelby kisses the tip of Santana's nose. "I like you lots, too."

"Me too?" Shelby looks down to notice that Brittany is now sitting at her feet, her wide blue eyes staring up at her.

"Well, of course, silly!" Shelby exclaims. Brittany's only response is to clamber up onto the sofa and crawl across Santana to get to her mama.

"Ugh, Brittany! You're squishing me!" Santana loudly complains, and Shelby can't help but laugh at the antics of your youngest girl, happily accepting Brittany's sloppy kiss to her cheek. Shelby is completely trapped underneath her affectionate girls, and this is the sight that Quinn walks in on.

"Oh I see," Quinn sarcastically begins. "I am slaving over a hot stove, and you're in here messing around with the girls," Quinn teases Shelby. Shelby laughs and opens her mouth to respond, but Santana beats her to it.

"You _wanted_ to make dinner!" Santana defends her mama, a scowl developing on her face as she kneels on the sofa with her arms on the back of it. Shelby lightly taps her bottom,

"hey, hey, she's just teasing," Shelby chastises lightly. "I appreciate you defending me, but there's no reason to. Don't speak to your sister like that." Shelby keeps her tone light, but still firm enough for Santana to understand that she is serious. Santana sighs,

"sorry, Quinn," she apologises, without even being prompted to do so first. Shelby nods approvingly and gently nudges Brittany, encouraging the girl to allow her to stand up.

"Apology accepted," Quinn grins, playfully poking Santana's forehead.

"Food now?" Brittany eagerly questions, pointedly patting her stomach. Quinn laughs lightly,

"not yet, kiddo. I was just joking with mama, the food is in the slow cooker," Quinn explains. "Sorry, cutie."

"Slow?" Brittany questions in outrage as she throws her hands up. "No like!"

"Yeah! No me gusta!" Santana pipes up.

"Calm down, girls," Shelby states firmly. "You had a snack a little while ago, you can wait a little longer for dinner," she adds as she scoops Liam out of his car seat and into her arms. "Quinn, could you warm a bottle for me?" Shelby requests. Brittany's jaw slackens and she stares exchanges a shocked look with Santana.

"How come _he_ gets to have dinner now?" Santana demands. Why can't the dumb baby wait until they get to eat, too? It's totally not fair!

"Santana," Shelby states in a warning tone. "Liam is just a baby and his food is much faster to prepare," Shelby explains. "Be a good girl and wait patiently."

"No fair!" Brittany chimes in, slamming her hand down on the sofa cushion. "Me food, too!" Shelby groans.

"Stop yelling," Shelby tells Brittany firmly. "Dinner will be ready soon. You girls had just improved your behaviour, don't mess it up now," Shelby warns.

"Food!" Brittany yells, causing Liam to whine in Shelby's arms. Shelby stares at Brittany in surprise, the girl has _never _acted like this before, and she had had certainly never yelled at her mama like this.

"Brittany, I will only tell you this once," Shelby begins and, boy, does she mean business. "You will stop being rude right now, and you will stop yelling at mama," she scolds. "You are being very naughty and I am not happy with you." Brittany, by this point, doesn't seem to care. All she can notice is the baby that has stolen her mama's attention, and her scowl deepens.

"NO!" Even Santana looks surprised by Brittany's yell, her brown eyes widening as she shuffles along the sofa to put some space between herself and her sister. No way doesn't she want any part in this now.

"Okay," Shelby nods. "Have it your way, Brittany." Shelby steps forward and wordlessly passes Liam into Quinn's waiting arms, the stunned teenager not uttering a single word. She doesn't even think Santana has been so directly disobedient towards Shelby before, and she's the, uh...passionate...one. Shelby reaches forward and takes a hold of Brittany's upper arm, gently but firmly pulling Brittany to her feet. "Best behaviour," Shelby says to Santana, her tone daring Santana to cause any trouble while she is upstairs with Brittany. Santana's only response is a wide eyed nod. No way is she gonna mess with her mama right now.

"Mama, no," Brittany whines as Shelby guides her towards the staircase. Shelby doesn't respond, merely choose to silently lead her youngest girl upstairs instead. Brittany works out what is going to happen next when she realises that she is not being led to her own bedroom, but her mama's instead. "I be good," Brittany suddenly begins to promise. Shelby wordlessly leads Brittany towards her bed and sits down on the edge of it, having the girl stand in between her legs.

"I have had to scold you all day, Brittany," Shelby begins and Brittany whimpers. She doesn't like it when Shelby uses her scary, stern mama's voice. "Liam is here because we are helping aunt Holly. She needed someone to look after him so she could go to work, you know that," Shelby explains. "I know that you don't like seeing mama with him, and I know that you feel jealous, but that is no reason to be as naughty as you have been today," Shelby scolds. Her piercing gaze doesn't leave Brittany's face as she speaks, and she can easily spot the tears in Brittany's beautiful blue eyes.

"I sorry," Brittany mumbles. "Sorry," she repeats. Shelby sighs sorry.

"I'm sorry, Brittany," she states with a shake of her head, "but you've earned a spanking." Brittany immediately bursts into tears. Her head drops and her chin touches her chest.

"No, mama, no 'pank," Brittany pleadingly wails and Shelby instantly feels like she is the scum of the earth for making her girl cry like this.

"Look at me, Brittany," Shelby gently urges as she uses her finger to coax Brittany's chin up. Wide, watery, blues eyes finally meet her gaze and Shelby sighs softly. "Mama does not like spanking any of you, but you deserve to be punished," Shelby explains. "You get a clean slate as soon as it's over. Mama will hold you and hug you for as long as you want me to, and then we'll go back downstairs and check on dinner. Okay?" Brittany sniffles. She doesn't want this at all, but she nods anyway. Mama never changes her mind about punishments.

"Sorry," Brittany whispers, her voice shaky from crying. Brittany smooths Brittany's hair down and kisses her cheek,

"I know you are, baby," Shelby murmurs, "and mama already forgives you. Let's get this over with, huh?" Brittany whimpers, but nods. She stands still as her mama shimmies her sweatpants down her legs and lets out another whimper as her diaper is removed. "Over my knee," Shelby softly tells her. The woman guides Brittany across her lap, and takes a deep breath. She hates this. She really, really hates this. Shelby raises her hand quickly brings it down four times, two spanks to each sit spot. Brittany sobs bitterly across her lap and Shelby sighs, at least it's over. "Come here, sweet girl," Shelby urges.

"Maaaama," Brittany wails as she scrambles to her feed, immediately falling forward into her mama's waiting embrace. She leans heavily into her mama and cries into her shoulder, Shelby blinking back her own tears as she tightly holds her sobbing girl.

"I know, I know," Shelby murmurs, her voice low and soothing. "It's all over, my baby girl, it's done. You have a clean slate now, remember?" Shelby rubs Brittany's back as the girl cries into her shirt, softly humming an old lullaby into her ear. That always soothes and comforts Brittany. "Mama loves you so, so much," Shelby whispers into Brittany's ear. "So much, my beautiful girl."

"Love, mama," Brittany hiccups, her sniffles beginning to die down. Mama's hand doesn't feel so bad now that it's gently stroking her hair.

"That's my big girl," Shelby murmurs, her guilt lessening with each passing moment. She still absolutely hates that she had to punish her, but it makes her feel better to know that Brittany accepts it and still wants to be comforted by her. "Mama's girl," Shelby kisses Brittany's cheek. "You took your punishment so well, I'm very proud of you," Shelby promises.

"Mama?" Brittany mumbles, small hiccups still jerking her body. "I hungry." Shelby chuckles softly.

"Alright, baby, we'll check on dinner when you're ready and mama will see if she can speed up the cooking, alright?" Shelby rolls her eyes. Her baby girl may have lost her temper, but it seems she will never lose her appetite.

0-00-0

Santana peers down at Liam with an unreadable expression on her face as Quinn sits next to her, the baby snuggled in her arms. She cocks her head to the side and studies the baby carefully before reaching out to gently touch his cheek. Santana is relieved that he's quiet now. In fact, he actually looks quite happy in Quinn's arms. Santana leans a little closer to him and touches his tiny fingers, a small smile appearing on her lips when his fingers wrap around hers.

"I guess he's kinda cute," Santana eventually says. "But I don't want to share mama with him," she softly adds.

"You don't have to share mama with him, honey," Quinn responds, using her most reassuring tone of voice. "You could help mama look after him, and then mama would be sharing you with him," she says with a sly grin. Kids are fickle, Quinn knows that. She knows that by making it more about her, Santana will be reassured. Santana scoots further back on the sofa and leans her chin on Quinn's shoulder, her gaze never leaving the baby.

"Won't that make mama upset?" Santana questions in a small voice.

"No, kiddo. Mama won't mind. In fact, I think mama will like that you are helping her," Quinn explains. "She doesn't like it when you guys are naughty, so I think it would upset her more if you keep being mean about Liam," the teenager gently states. "It's not Liam's fault that he's here, he's just a baby. Mama is just helping aunt Holly because they're friends," Quinn murmurs. "Look how much he likes you being nice to him." Santana studies the baby's happy little face and it makes her smile, too. "He just wants to be snuggled and played with."

"I can help mama," Santana nods. "I don't want to make her upset again."

"Good girl," Quinn tells her with a fond smile, the teenager softly kissing Santana's forehead. They both look up at Shelby leads Brittany back into the living room by the hand. Brittany's eyes are still a little red, but she looks calm and comforted.

"Hey there," Shelby smiles softly as she sits down next to Santana on the shoulder, pulling Brittany down to sit on her lap. "I see you're making friends with Liam."

"I'm gonna help you look after him, mama," Santana proudly tells her.

"You are?" Shelby animatedly questions. "I must be the luckiest mama in the world to have such a helpful little girl," Shelby praises.

"Brittany," Santana frowns as she reaches out to touch her sister's face. "Are you okay?"

"Mama 'panked," Brittany pouts, planning to milk this for all of the sympathy in the world.

"Spankings suck," Santana frowns sympathetically.

"Uh huh," Brittany nods. She gazes curiously at Liam, "okay?" Brittany asks Santana, pointing at the baby.

"Yeah," Santana nods. "He's not so bad," she says. "He's really small," she adds, as though nobody else could work that out for themselves. Santana sighs, "I wish I was that small, mama."

"I know, baby," Shelby wistfully responds. "I wish you were that small, too," she honestly states. Shelby adores her teenage daughters and wouldn't change them for anything, but there are definitely times that she wishes she could bundle their little selves into her arms. "But you girls are absolutely perfect as you are," Shelby adds. "My three beautiful girls." Santana grins at her mama, nodding in agreement. She _is_ beautiful.

"Mama, pretty," Brittany murmurs.

"Not as pretty as you, my love," Shelby responds, kissing Brittany's temple. The girl ducks her head in embarrassment, her face pressing shlyly into Shelby's neck. "Do you think you could maybe help mama, too?" Shelby quietly questions. Brittany looks reluctant. "You don't have to, sweetheart. You could maybe just draw him a pretty picture instead, does that sound better?"

"I draw," Brittany agrees, nodding seriously.

"Alright then, sweet girl. If you need mama for anything, you just need to let me know," Shelby murmurs. "Even if I am holding Liam, and even if you just need a mama snuggle, okay?"

"Uh huh, 'kay," Brittany grins.

"Good girl. Alright, you go draw," Shelby urges her. "Maybe Santana will help you get all of the crayons out of the toy box," she suggests, shooting Santana a wink. Santana nods, taking her job to help her little sister very seriously indeed. Shelby watches as her girls head over to the toy box and she sighs softly. "Whatever you said to Santana, thank you," Shelby gratefull tells Quinn.

"I didn't say anything you wouldn't say," Quinn shrugs.

"Still, thank you." Shelby kisses Quinn's cheek and smiles down at the baby in her arms. "Oh, and I've decided what I'm going to do with the information."

"What?" Quinn doesn't even bother attempting to hide her confusion.

"Little Quinn's snack stash," Shelby reminds her, and Quinn rolls her eyes. "Don't worry, I was serious when I said I wouldn't punish her for something you told me about," Shelby reassures her. "But when little Quinn comes back, we will be going upstairs to get all of the food back," Shelby explains. "No punishment, just a food removal operation," she teasingly adds. Quinn chuckles,

"alright."

"I mean, it's not like there's a _lot_ of food up there," Shelby continues. Quinn averts her gaze, a small blush flooding her face. "How much?" Shelby suspisiously asks, not missing Quinn's weird behaviour. "Quinn, _how much_?" Quinn sighs softly and gently bounces Liam. She smirks to herself, and Shelby isn't at all surprised by Quinn's cop-out answer,

"I guess you'll just have to ask little Quinn."

_**-Fin-**_

_**Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this little side story! Please leave a review to let me know what you think!**_


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